Lodge 49 (S01E03) “Corpus”

This week at the Lodge it is all about time as well as timing. Time to say goodbye to constraints and move forward.

“Time is an illusion.” – Dud

The Squire Is Born

Dud is finally realizing his goal of becoming a Squire at the Lodge. While this is a happy time for him, the ceremony is interrupted by a broken pipe dripping water onto everyone on stage.

Scott who is still bitter over Ernie being the pro-tem Sovereign Protector in Larry’s absence, squabbles with him over who should fix the leak. He also brings up the fact that because the SP isn’t present, the confirmation of Dud isn’t really valid.

Blaise interjects so that the peace is kept and they can complete the task at hand. While they are celebrating Dud’s new status, Blaise imparts some information that Larry’s mom was an SP and he practically grew up in the Lodge. The picture that everyone is staring at on the wall is a bit of foreshadowing.

Scott’s “cop intuition” is telling him that something isn’t right about Larry taking a sabbatical. Of course, he is overjoyed at the prospect of London getting involved in Lodge affairs. After all, why is Larry getting all this mail from China?

Time to Dream

When we catch up with Liz, she appears to be at work. A customer asks her for a St. Patrick’s stir fry. When she tells him that it is seasonal, he inquires as to whether or not the chef can make an exception. We hear the annoying alarm going off in the background.

Liz wakes up from her dream. Frantically, she counts her stash of money. This is frightening to her that she can’t seem to shake Shamroxx even when she is slumbering.

When she walks into the living room, she sees Dud sleeping peacefully in his Lodge garb on the couch. Annoyed, she scares him awake. Taking him to task for reading instead of finding employment, before departing for the restaurant, she reminds him that he owes her $3,000.

Time for Work

Wide awake, thanks to “Lizard” we find Dud in the shower. Let’s just say he is practicing “self-love.” Shortly after he finishes (not really) he goes to get out of the tub and lands on the floor. Meanwhile his cell phone is ringing away.

Liz is explaining to Champ and Gerson that she is dreaming about work which is an indicator that she is stressed out. Champ tells her it’s capitalism. Gerson sees it more of a chakra alignment so he sends her to see his apothecary.

Dud meets his boss Gloria. The place where he is working is vast and empty except for a guy who is sleeping in his cubicle. Gloria tasks him with collating colored forms into a folder because it is “so simple a child could do it.”

Because he is easy going, Dud doesn’t get insulted by Gloria’s demeanor. He lets her know he can do what is required.

Time to Get High

Liz ends up going to see Gerson’s apothecary who turns out to be Blaise from Lodge 49. He starts to instruct her in metaphysical matters when all she wants to do is get high. When she inquires about the price of lollypops, Blaise informs her that they are $15.00 each because they are his own “special blend.”

That special blend must be incredible because Liz ends up getting an attack of the munchies and winds up stuffing her face with a burrito in church. Her Monsignor approaches her and immediately he can tell she is high. The two proceed to have a frank discussion on saying goodbye to her father by having a memorial for him. It is about closure.

Time to Say Goodbye

At first, Liz doesn’t want to have a ceremony for her dad but she decides to do it because she wants Dud to face up to the fact that he is gone. She resents her twin because he doesn’t feel any of the pressure that she does.

Part of her is also scared because she sees her brother going down the same path as their father. Lack of drive and ambition plus a penchant for going into debt is the way that she sees Dud’s future. Angry, she tells him that it’s time to say goodbye to their father.

Time to Capture Captain

Ernie is on a different quest. His timeline is about obtaining security for the future. As a plumbing salesman, the “Holy Grail” for him is getting an account with the elusive developer “Captain.”

So, he gets a hot tip from one of his customers that the way to get to Captain is through Kaplan a hotel development firm. Now, Ernie feels that he is one step closer to financial freedom.

Time for Being Optimized

Things aren’t much better for the love of Ernie’s life, Connie. She is pitching a story to her editor when after he agrees that the paper should run with it, he tells her that they are letting her go.

When asked why, he responds by giving her a piece of paper explaining that they are optimizing operations and going digital. Incredulous, she chases her boss from his office and calls Ernie.

Since Scott is out of town and her ass has been optimized, she wants to spend the weekend with him.

Time to Meet Captain

Ernie is at Kaplan’s offices, dressed up and prepared to give a sales presentation to Captain’s representatives. What happens next is a total misunderstanding. The receptionist mistakes him for the project geologist.

Ushering him into the meeting, Ernie sits down and no one thinks anything of it. He thinks that he is going to pitch plumbing supplies.

Captain is on the speaker phone. This is the first time that we hear him. Fans of the departed STARZ show, Ash vs Evil Dead will recognize the voice as belonging to none other than Bruce Campbell.

Of course, when Ernie tells them he is not a geologist and launches into his spiel, he gets bounced from the premises.

Time to Get Your Mojo Back

When Dud’s boss Gloria asks him if he could work the weekend, Dud pauses. He knows that his father’s memorial is on Saturday but he agrees to coming in to the office. However, he lets her know that he has to leave at 3:00 because he has a “thing.”

As it turns out, Gloria has a slight crush on Dud. She asks him to help her with her pool situation. Knowing he has to be at his Dad’s service, he foregoes that and decides to see if he can assist Gloria.

Once he is at her home, he looks at the pool which is totally overrun by an algae bloom. He also finds a clog in her filter. It turns out to be a rat.

At first, it would appear that the rodent was deceased but he wakes up and starts crawling onto Gloria’s shoulder. She screams, Dud knocks it off into the pool and the two impulsively embrace.

While this is happening, Dud gets an erection for the first time in over a year. Pleased with himself, he pulls away from Gloria and goes off to attend his Dad’s memorial.

Time for Dud’s Eulogy

Liz opts not to give a eulogy for her father. Dud, on the other hand, jumps at the prospect to say a few words. He wants to honor him. When he starts talking about alchemy and how to access hidden worlds, everyone thinks he has lost his mind. In fact, he may be quite sane.

Time is a constraint. It ground us to reality but if we choose not to live our lives by it then there is no need for goodbyes because that recognition of time passing would be irrelevant. Therefore, in Dud’s eyes, his father is still there.

The Aftermath

Dud escapes Liz’s wrath and goes to the Lodge to be with friends. Despite the crappy week that everyone has had they celebrate and have a good time letting go. Especially Ernie and Dud who end up getting wasted.

The two decide to spend the night in the sentinel suite. While they are chatting, Dud lays down on the Murphy bed and gets flipped into the wall.

Ernie wonders where he went, and then he hears Dud calling him. When Ernie pulls the bed down, they notice a secret chamber filled with artifacts and a mummified corpse.

As it just so happens, the mummy is the man who was in the picture with Larry’s mother at the beginning of the show.

The Verdict

Every week Lodge 49 gets better and better. The fact that executive producer and writer Jim Gavin is able to craft entire episodes around concepts like time and hidden realms is brilliant.

What can I say about the ensemble cast? Wyatt Russell, Sonya Cassidy, Brent Jennings, Eric Allan Kramer, David Pasquesi and Linda Emond are absolutely believable in their roles. I can almost imagine meeting up with any of them in a social club.

Each episode of this series is like a religious parable without hitting you over the head. You walk away with knowledge that you didn’t know you needed from a place that you won’t forget.